Ben Zimmer discusses the expression “get one’s goat,” which he’s been investigating: All of the sources start with a 1904 book called Life in Sing Sing, a prison memoir by the anonymous convict “Number 1500.” In the chapter on “Slang Among Convicts,” the word goat is glossed as “anger; to exasperate,” but that doesn’t get […]

Ryan Broderick,"People Are Actually Writing The Word 'Firstable' Online Instead Of 'First Of All': What has the internet done to our brains?". In response, Ben Zimmer entered firstable in the Eggcorn Database, noting uses back to 1996: Firstable, the term “indian” and christianity were imposed in Peru through blood and fire by European conquerors.(Marxism mailing list, Jan. […]

My first thought upon reading the following announcement is that my colleagues and I here at Language Log headquarters hasten to claim Ben as one of ours (he doesn't just belong to the WSJ!): "WSJ's Ben Zimmer receives first LSA Linguistics Journalism Award" Here's the text of the LSA announcement: The Linguistic Society of America […]

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer will be available Monday at 3 p.m. ET, where he will address the latest news surrounding the team. Follow along as ESPN Vikings reporter Ben Goessling reports from the news conference.

Via HiLobrow (8/10/2014), Ben Zimmer came across this virtuoso display of Gothic katakana on feitclub's Tumblr: I must confess that I have a hard time reading off this beautiful, ornate font, which is so different from the spare, simple, Japanese katakana. From Wikipedia, here's a chart of the latter for comparison: Goj?on – Katakana characters with […]

Someday, someone will make a big-budget superhero movie with a sensitive, Zach Braff-esque soundtrack, where James Mercer or Ben Gibbard will sing in the background as a villain gets his head smashed into a wall. Until then, filmmakers will continue to hire the people who know how to do big, loud, and exciting music. Show More Summary

Via the New York Times: After a year dominated by upstart words like “selfie,” “bitcoin” and “twerk,” the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year for 2013 seems slightly banal: “because.” Ben Zimmer, chairman of the dialect society’s...Show More Summary

Don't be thrown off by this PBS Off Book video's title — this isn't a diatribe about how language is devolving to make way for GIFs and chat speak. Linguist Ben Zimmer explores the history of emoticons and writing and how they might combine to create a more reflective representation of the human experience — like punctuation, but more poignant.

Ben Zimmer had an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) over the weekend on "intangibles." "The one thing that you can't fully measure is the intangibles Jonny Gomes brings," according to John Farrell.Show More Summary

What will it sound like as Ben Affleck punches Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Batman-Superman team-up/face-off movie? Don’t ask Hans Zimmer, as the composer hasn’t been asked to contribute to Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel … yet.
Vulture ran a few quotes from an upcoming Zimmer profile they plan to run later this year. Show More Summary

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel may be moving faster than you thought: Even though the filmmaker only recently cast Ben Affleck as Batman and major production isn't supposed to get under way until the New Year, the movie is actually shooting some football-game scenes this weekend, suggesting that Snyder... More »

Composer Hans Zimmer discusses 'Batman vs. Superman', the challenge of a new Batman theme song and the casting of Ben Affleck. The post Hans Zimmer Talks ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Music & Ben Affleck Casting appeared first on Screen Ran...